LIVING ART | Famed artist Abdur Rahman Chughtai is making rapid strides at sales by top-notch auctioneer Christie's

Master artist Abdur Rahman Chughtai’s paintings have made rapid strides at leading auctioneer Christie’s. Chughtai’s Arjuna as a Victor holds the world record price at Christie’s for Chughtai. Arjuna as a Victor realised $254,500 at a Christie’s auction in March 2010, far exceeding the $30,000-50,000 estimate.

In the same breath, Christie’s offered two paintings by Chughtai in its September 2021 auction of South Asian Modern and Contemporary Art. At this sale, The Tutor, carrying an estimate of $10,000-15,000 went for $37,500 and the other, Krishna Instructing Arjuna, estimated at $30,000-50,000, touched $250,000.

Another painting from the same series was sold in the recent auction of Christie’s in September 2022, called the Bond of Love, featuring Krishna and Radha. It fetched a price tag of $126,000.

“Arjuna as a Victor is one of Chughtai’s interpretations of Hindu mythological narratives. In it, he depicts a significant moment in The Mahabharata, in which Arjuna earns the hand of the princess Draupadi by winning an archery contest. While Chughtai draws inspiration from India’s miniature painting tradition, he foregoes the crowded compositions of historic miniatures, instead creating a simplified composition that maintains focus on its central protagonist,” explains Nishad Avari. Avari is specialist and head of sale and associate vice-president of South Asian Modern & Contemporary Art at Christie’s, New York.

He adds, “Chughtai omits any sense of setting, instead presenting the figures against a warm golden wash. Arjuna’s body language is relaxed but focused, his eyes staring straight ahead, lips curved into a slight smile. Here, Chughtai displays his decidedly modern sensibility by revealing a hint of Arjuna’s personality, imbuing a sense of humanity into this religious scene.”

Arjuna as a Victor also exemplifies Chughtai’s delicate style, with its thin, careful lines and subtle yet still eye-catching color palette. His technical ability is evident in the fine details of Arjuna’s clothing, with his fine lines creating a sense of volume and drapery even in the medium of watercolor. The painting also showcases Chughtai’s key influences, as the onlookers resemble the denizens of historic Persian miniatures, though they are reinterpreted through Chughtai’s twentieth-century perspective.

Krishna Instructing Arjuna was also estimated at $30,000-$50,000, ultimately achieving $250,000. “This is one of the strongest prices achieved for any work by Chughtai offered at auction, five times the high estimate. This result is in line with that of Arjuna as a Victor, as it is a work from the same important published series of paintings which are very rare,” stresses Avari.

According to Nishad, the success of Krishna Instructing Arjuna at auction reflects broader interest in modern South Asian art, which continues to attract new patrons and collectors. Furthermore, Chughtai is one of Pakistan’s most recognisable and celebrated artists, and is represented in prominent collections around the world, including the British Museum, the United Nations, and a dedicated Chughtai Museum in Lahore. His widespread renown and institutional interest in his work contributes to his success at auction.

“Krishna Instructing Arjuna is also a particularly fine example of his distinct style and his skill at working with watercolors. The artist’s subtle, elegant palette gives the painting the jewel-like quality that Chughtai is famous for. Furthermore, the composition is enlivened with Chughtai’s sumptuous details,” says Nishad.

Dwelling on the factors driving Chughtai’s prices, Nishad says, “As previously mentioned, Chughtai is one of Pakistan’s most celebrated modern artists. His work has always been sought after by collectors who are enchanted by its beauty and refinement.

“The artist was acclaimed during his lifetime for his technical ability and romantic sensibility that married various traditions – including Persian and Mughal miniatures, Orientalism, and early Indian modernism – to create a distinct approach to both familiar and new subjects. This hybrid style also attracts collectors from other fields of art including traditional Islamic art and Indian court paintings.” Chughtai’s work is also well-researched and documented. He published multiple books of his own art and illustrations during his lifetime, and has been the subject of monographs and research by significant art historians. “The esteemed art historian Iftikhar Dadi dedicated an entire chapter of his publication Modernism and the Art of Muslim South Asia to Chughtai and his lasting impact. These publications have contributed to the accessibility of Chughtai’s work to new collectors, and make him sought after by established collectors in the field. Given the overall influx of interest in modern South Asian art, it makes sense that Chughtai has emerged as a highly valued artist,” explains Nishad.

Delving into whether this is just the beginning in Chughtai’s prices touching record levels, Avari elaborates that “recently, the market for modern and contemporary South Asian art has been very strong. The works of many artists are achieving high prices at auction, and Christie’s continues to set new records for several modern and contemporary artists. As the market matures, and more collectors become interested in this field, it is likely that Chughtai’s paintings will enjoy further attention, appreciate in value, and reach new heights at auction. Additionally, given the rarity of the artist’s larger watercolors that were published during his lifetime, like Krishna Instructing Arjuna, such works will always attract the attention of collectors and command premium prices”.

Nishad says Christie’s first offered works by Chughtai at auction in 1998, when watercolors by him were included in its London sale of Contemporary Indian Art. Since then, Chughtai’s paintings have continued to perform well at auction, frequently exceeding their high estimates. With increasing buyer awareness and interest in modern South Asian art, Chughtai’s works still attract new followers and collectors every time they are offered for sale, with “notable highs in our 2010 auction (Arjuna as a Victor) and the September 2021 sale (Krishna Instructing Arjuna)”.

“We would love to feature more of his works, but it depends on availability as works by the artist are particularly rare,” says Nishad. Asked whether Chughtai’s works are relatively difficult to source, given that he belongs to the period of the Bengal School, Avari agrees that Chughtai is indeed an older artist, who worked primarily on paper, his work is particularly rare and difficult to source. Paintings that were exhibited and illustrated in his lifetime are even more rare to find.

“Furthermore, many of his works are located in the collections of museums and institutions, so they will not be coming back to the market,” says Avari.

Expanding on Christie’s approach to go about sourcing Chughtai’s works and getting across Christie’s to Chughtai’s collections and collectors, Nishad says the famed auction house has an extensive network of collectors who it works with to put together its sales each year. “Given our longstanding investment in the modern South Asian art market, we are intimately familiar with the artists, institutions, and collectors in this field, which allows us to source works for our sales. Of course, on occasion, we are happy to discover works by artists like Chughtai that we did not know about before.”

Krishna Instructing Arjuna was last seen in the 1951 monograph Chughtai’s Indian Paintings, and was shown in public by Christie’s during the preview for Christie’s September 2021 auction after being held for more than seventy years in a private collection unknown to anyone.

Lending an insight into Chughtai’s life and works, Nishad goes onto to say that Abdur Rahman Chughtai was born in Lahore circa 1894. After discovering his passion for art in his youth, his parents sent him to apprentice with an uncle who was trained in traditional Islamic calligraphy and decorative arts.

After apprenticing in his uncle’s studio, he enrolled in the Mayo School of Art in Lahore. The Mayo School of Art, which was founded by John Lockwood Kipling, aimed to train highly skilled craftsmen. Chughtai enrolled in the drawing department, and, after four years of study, excelled in his exams and took up a teaching post. He also began working as an artist and started sending his work to journals in Calcutta, where it was published and gained the artist early acclaim.

As a teacher in the newly established photo-lithography department, Chughtai worked alongside Samendranath Tagore, a student of Abanindranath Tagore and an important influence on his work. “Tagore’s influence is likely the reason that Chughtai’s early work strongly resembles the style of the Bengal School. Though Chughtai was never part of the Bengal School, his work was compared to its artists throughout his career,” says Avari.

By 1924, Chughtai was well known and able to successfully make a living as an independent artist. He was chosen for the prestigious British Empire Exhibition in London, and continued to show his work in exhibitions around India. He was also an active member of art and literary circles in Lahore and Calcutta.

A voracious reader, Chughtai kept abreast of contemporary literature, art criticism, and other cultural movements. “He also sought to illustrate poetry, eventually publishing his own books of poetry illustrations, and designed book covers and book jackets for numerous Urdu poets. He also wrote his own short stories and poetry, though he always prioritized his visual art,” stresses Nishad.

In the 1930s, Chughtai travelled to London twice to study etching and engraving. He also visited numerous museums and galleries across Europe, familiarising himself with pre-eminent European movements. These visits are likely the reason for the influence of the Art Nouveau style on his work, which contains a similar delicacy and attention to detail, underscores Nishad.

In 1937, while he was in London, Chughtai’s paintings triumphed over thousands of submissions for acceptance into a juried Royal College of Art exhibition. He was one of the first non-European artists to be included in such a show.

By the 1940s, Chughtai had fully developed his recognizable style. While his early work was often heavily compared to the Bengal School, as he matured as an artist, he created his own approach to painting, incorporating myriad influences such as Mughal, Persian and Rajput painting, Japanese woodcut prints, and the romanticism of Orientalist painting.

“Unlike many of his contemporaries, Chughtai painted wide-ranging subjects, including Hindu myths, Islamic history, and genre scenes. Throughout his career, he maintained a deep commitment to preserving tradition, specifically the literary traditions of Islamic culture,” points out Avari.

Chughtai’s career was impacted by Partition. The violence and instability meant that he was unable to send his works for exhibition abroad, and his acclaim as an Indian artist was now complicated by the formation of the new state of Pakistan. Despite these complications, Chughtai continued to work, contributing heavily to his new nation.

“He designed several stamps, submitted numerous designs for flags, and contributed to the designs of coins and official letterheads for Pakistan. Considered one of the founding fathers of modern art in Pakistan, his art was exhibited and promoted around the country. He continued to work in Pakistan throughout the twentieth-century and enjoy considerable success. He passed away in Lahore in 1975,” informs Nishad.

Ashoke Nag is a veteran writer on art and culture with a special interest in legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray.

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